"WORLD CREATIVITY and INNOVATION DAY"

SUSTAINABILITY & CULTURE

"World Creativity & Innovation Day"

THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX

 

Observed six days after Leonardo da Vinci’s birthday and one day before International Mother Earth Day, World Creativity and Innovation Day (#WCID) is well positioned to encourage creative multidisciplinary thinking to help us achieve the sustainable future we want, to generate new ideas, make new  decisions, take new actions and achieve new outcomes that make the world  a better place and make your place in the world better too. Creativity and innovation, at both the individual and group levels, have become the true wealth of nations in the 21st century, according to the findings of the special edition of the Creative Economy Report "Widening local development pathways", co-published by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the UN Development Programme (UNDP) through the UN Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC).

 

 April 21, the day before Earth Day, April 22, was chosen as World Creativity and Innovation Day  to emphasize the importance of using new thinking to create a decent life for all on a sustainable planet.

 

 

Celebrate your freedom

 

Purpose

The purpose for World Creativity and Innovation Day was, and still is, to remind and encourage people to use their creativity to make the world a better place and to make their place in the world better too.

April 21, the day before Earth Day, April 22, was chosen as World Creativity and Innovation Day  to emphasize the importance of using new thinking to create a decent life for all on a sustainable planet.

April 21 is a placeholder in time to give people a reason and opportunity to use imagination productively, to release new thinking, and to celebrate that.

Creativity and Culture

The creative economy –which includes audiovisual products, design, new media, performing arts, publishing and visual arts– is a highly transformative sector of the world economy in terms of income generation, job creation and export earnings. Culture is an essential component of sustainable development and represents a source of identity, innovation and creativity for the individual and community. At the same time, creativity and culture have a significant non-monetary value that contributes to inclusive social development, to dialogue and understanding between peoples.
Economic Growth Strategies

Cultural and creative industries should be part of economic growth strategies, according to the UNESCO report on culture and sustainable development. These industries are among the most dynamic sectors in the world economy, generating $2.25 billion in revenue and 29.5 million jobs worldwide. In that spirit, countries are harnessing the potential of high-growth areas of the market for economic returns and poverty alleviation.
New Momentum

On #WCID, the world is invited to embrace the idea that innovation is essential for harnessing the economic potential of nations. Innovation, creativity and mass entrepreneurship can provide new momentum for economic growth and job creation. It can expand opportunities for everyone, including women and youth. It can provide solutions to some of the most pressing problems such as poverty eradication and the elimination of hunger.

 

 

 

 

How World Creativity and Innovation Day, April 21 Began

World Creativity and Innovation Day, April 21 Becomes a United Nations International Day of Observance

On April 27, 2017, the United Nations resolved to include World Creativity and Innovation Day, April 21 as a Day of Observance to encourage people to use creativity in problem-solving for all issues related to achieving the 2015 Sustainable Development Goals. 2018 marks the first year the UN will observe WCID.

United Nationa Ambassador I. Rhonda King, Permanent Representative from St. Vincent and the Grenadines reading Resolution No.  284 on April 27, 2017 founding World Creativity and Innovation Day, April 21 as a UN International Day of Observance.

World Creativity and Innovation Day April 21 (WCID) was born on May 25, 2001, in Toronto, Canada.

Its founder Canadian Marci Segal began studying creativity in 1977 at the International Center for Studies in Creativity, SUNY Buffalo. When this headline appeared in the National Post, she was well aware of the potentials and challenges the subject presented for mainstream thinking. “Wouldn’t it be great if people knew how to use their natural ability to generate new ideas, make new decisions, take new actions and achieve new outcomes, to make the world a better place and to make their place in the world better too?” she thought. So she used hers.

Growth

April 2002 – The first celebrations occurred in the Netherlands; Bangkok, Thailand; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Chicago, US;  Hamilton and Toronto, Ontario. Each group/locale held activities, meetings, workshops, and conversations leveraging creativity and creative action that were relevant to their own context.

WCID Celebrations 2002

A Yahoo- group formed; people joined from all over the world – the US, Brazil, Argentina, France, Italy, Thailand. Over the years celebrations emerged in other countries including Belarus, India, Australia, Egypt, Peru, Chile, India, Malaysia, UK, Italy, France, El Salvador, Morocco, United Arab Emirates, Greece, Ecuador, Columbia, and Slovenia.

2006 – WCID Day Became a Week (WCIW)
Beginning Leonardo da Vinci’s birthday, April 15

People asked to extend their programs beyond one day. They wanted more time and permission to focus in on deliberately using creativity (new ideas, perspectives, decisions, actions, outcomes) and make something from it. “In the Bible, there are 7 days of creation,” someone from Brazil remarked. “We need 7 days also – to teach skills, have lectures, make meetings, explore diverse points of view in a safe space.  Seven days.  Please.”
In 2006, World Creativity and Innovation Day April 21, became World Creativity and Innovation Week April 15-21.  Leonardo da Vinci’s birthday, April 15, marks its beginning each year.  da Vinci demonstrates creativity as BOTH arts and sciences, that each informs the other.

WCID Celebrations by 2016

 2017 – 16 Years Later

In schools, online, in factories, businesses, communities, homes, council chambers and on the streets the celebration continues. People in over 100 communities and in 50+ countries unite in creativeness individually and globally; they deliberately provide time, space,  opportunity, and skill building for people to generate new ideas and use the power of imagination to make a difference in many ways.

Please join in!  Everyone is welcome.

Whether you are in a business or school, at home, government, in a club, face-to-face, virtually or on the factory floor. You can do it in the street, on the bus, at the mall, in the executive suite and council chambers. WCID and WCIW happen where you are.

WCID/WCIW is different.

Why? Because it’s up to you to celebrate. Think of it as Mother’s Day. Celebrate in ways that are meaningful to you in your environment. Perhaps you are in a community where others are offering programs.  Go. Do.  Perhaps this provides an opportunity for you to meet new people, consult with your customers and clients, offer services where the funds collected go to a charity.  This might be a time to enliven the mood at work or enjoy new kinds of fun with your family and friends in your community. New ideas, new decisions, new actions, new outcomes. Creativity is in you… use it…Go. See what you can do.

Do something different
Inspire new thinking and new action
Help people feel their potential to make a positive difference. 


Think it’s doable?  To get everyone on the planet involved celebrating their creativity, using it AND doing good at the same time? Would you like be a part of something fun?

Tweet Trend fodder beginning April 15 every year: Happy World Creativity & Innovation Week April 15 – 21. New ideas, new decisions, new futures #wciw wciw.org